


Please lie to me

by MothLarva



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Major Character Injury, Medical Inaccuracies, Protective Darth Vader, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25270870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MothLarva/pseuds/MothLarva
Summary: Luke is badly injured while in Imperial custody, Vader doesn't want to lose anyone else.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader & Luke Skywalker
Comments: 10
Kudos: 122
Collections: 2020 Star Wars Summer Fic Exchange





	Please lie to me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [prayforpiett](https://archiveofourown.org/users/prayforpiett/gifts).



> I really enjoyed writing this and I hope you like it!  
> Prompt was "Please lie to me."

He thought when he gave them his name they would stop.

He really should have known better. 

Luke was propped up against the wall of a standard Imperial cell. He had been drifting in and out of consciousness since the Imperials had finished beating the living hell out of him. Every attempt to move sent white hot pain lancing through what felt like every muscle of his body.

He had been assigned to a mission that involved hijacking a weapon supply ship. It had gone horribly wrong. 

They had captured Luke along with a few others. He hadn’t been able to sense them in… How long had he been here? It scared him not being able to sense where they were or if they were even okay, but reaching through the force to find them was damn near impossible. If he could think straight, he might have guessed it was the stuff they drugged him with during the interrogation. Or perhaps a concussion.

All things considered, they were most likely in almost as awful shape as he was. At least they had the benefit of not having force knows how many Imperials wanting to kick their teeth in for killing their loved ones on the Death Star. 

_Not that any of it matters now. I barely escaped Fa-_ Vader _the last time, what possible chance do I have now._

That was as far as he would let despair take hold before steeling his resolve. Whatever was in store for him next, he couldn’t just sit there and wait for it.

Luke cracked open his eyes and blinked against the harsh light of the cell. 

It was hard to tell exactly what was broken and what was just bruised. Gritting his teeth, he tried to shift over into a better position. Crying out in pain, he instinctively curled in on himself as a sharp bolt of agony tore through his chest. 

It felt as if someone had stabbed him with a vitroblade. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

He was choking on something. He couldn’t breathe.

Luke reached out into the force. It was like thrashing around submerged in pitch black water, grabbing out for anything he could use and having it slip through his fingers. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t focus enough through the pain and panic to grasp it.

That metaphor felt a little too real as he hacked up the warm, coppery blood filling his lungs.

Luke made one last desperate reach into the force. He brushed up against something freezing cold at the back of his mind. Using as much strength as he could muster, he grabbed hold of it and pulled.

\--- 

Darth Vader had his men set a course for the nearby system the second they’d received word that Skywalker had been captured. According to the report, a group of rebels had attempted to hijack a weapon supply ship and were caught off guard and captured. 

Vader had been waiting so long for this. After years of chasing his son only to have Luke slip from his grasp, the child is finally within his reach.

Their last encounter had not ended well, to say the least. 

The Sith Lord’s nightmares had been different since then. Plagued with images of his only son plummeting into an abyss, choosing death over joining him.

He honestly couldn’t say he was surprised. It was a Skywalker move through and through.

As much as Vader loathed to admit it, he felt guilty for the harm he caused Luke. Such feelings were below a Sith Lord. He couldn’t let that get in the way if he had any chance of making Luke turn, of having him by his side against the Emperor.

The commander responsible for capturing his rebel son was nervously rattling on about the information they had managed to get out of the other prisoners. Vader might have been lost in thought, but he was not completely ignoring the man. 

He was about to tell him to send the report to his admiral when he felt a sharp tug on the force bond he shared with his son. The pain and desperation he felt from across the bond made him stop in his tracks. 

The commander flinched and came to a stop, thinking he had said something to anger him.

“M-my Lord?” He yelped as Vader stormed past him towards where Luke was being held. He did not need a guide to find his son, and the man was wise enough not to try and stop him.

He could not lose him this time.

The ship was not large but every second felt like an eternity

The guards outside Luke’s cell door startled backwards, unable to get a word out before Vader had ripped the door wide open. 

Inside, his son lay in a broken heap. Luke was pale as a ghost, blood dripping down his chin. Vader rushed forward and knelt down, bringing up his comlink to call for medical.

Luke’s condition was horrendous, he tried to control his rage as he checked over his son’s injuries with the force. This wasn’t unusual for imperial prisoners, but seeing his child like this made his chest clench like a vice.

There. A broken rib had pierced his lung. Vader’s heart sank. This small ship would not have sufficient medical facilities to handle something like this. He quickly commed the medics of the _Executor_ , informing them that they were to ready themselves to receive an important patient with a punctured lung. He did not need to say what would happen if they fail to do so.

He placed a hand on Luke’s cheek. 

_You are safe now but_ _you need to stay awake little one._

Luke opened his eyes and struggled to look up at him. 

He felt Luke’s relief through the bond. Vader wasn’t sure if it was genuine or if Luke was just too delirious to remember why he shouldn’t be.

Removing his cape, he gently wrapped it around his shaking child, lifted him up, and cradled him in his arms. It hadn’t occurred to him how small Luke was. 

Vader ignored the terrified guards and their commander. Their fear of interrupting him had extended the very, very little time they and everyone else on this ship had left to live.

Vader could feel his fear through the bond as well as his own. He could feel Luke slipping and urged him to stay awake, just for a little longer.

The medics were there when he returned to the _Executor_ as instructed. He gently placed Luke into the medical pod they had waiting for him. There was nothing he could do now but stay by his side and pray to the force he’d be fine. Pray that he wouldn’t lose anyone else.

_Father?_

Vader’s heart skipped a beat.

_Please lie to me. Please. Tell me everything will be okay._

Vader paused. 

_It will be alright. I promise._

Somehow he didn’t think he’d be able to keep it.


End file.
